My friend's a helicopter pilot, and she gave me her personal take on this.
She mentioned that disregarding the volatility of the weather, and the systematic approach of normalization of deviance may have led to the untimely deaths of the passengers aboard.
First off, the pilot who passed away in the accident was flying the Sikorsky S-76, was also the chief pilot of the charter company. Sikorsky is a twin-engine turbine aircraft which means even in the event of any kind of engine failure, the pilot should be able to land the helicopter safely, it's also rarely has any safety problems. He's really well known in the aviation field, and his experience is vast. He probably flew this route over a hundred times. I would imagine the situation he found himself and his attendees prior to crashing was absolutely the last thing on his mind when they took off.
She said pilots have to always do PAVE check: Pilot, Aircraft, EnVironment, and External factors. It seems like he avoided doing a good routine check on the last two items, with weather reporting low visibility, and low ceilings. Now, there is a pretty good chance that the pilot had flown the route in probably worse conditions, but he also probably didn't want to let any of his passengers down by cancelling their flight.
Based on numerous reports, the NTSB may clear up any mechanical or malfunctioning issues. The pilot was given a special VFR, which dictates that he had to be out of the clouds and retain a 1 mile flight visibility.
John: “A Special VFR Clearance is an ATC authorization for a VFR aircraft to operate in weather that is less than the basic VFR minima. Basic VFR minima are 1,000-foot ceiling and 3 miles visibility. If the reported weather is less, a pilot can request a Special VFR Clearance.
My friend says in conclusion, it seems most likely pilot found himself in the clouds with zero or limited visibility and found himself in a tight spot, and a lot of variables inevitably played a role in unexpected and accelerated situation. Either being so low to the ground with a low field of vision, probably led to flying into a hill or making a sharp turn and the aircraft most likely spun out of control and crashed.
When it struck the ground, the helicopter was flying at about 184 mph and descending at a rate of more than 4,000 feet per minute, the data showed.
That's pretty sad, and it seems like everyone on the aircraft instantaneously died.
[ABC7] Shortly after 9:40 am the helicopter turned again, toward the southeast, and climbed to more than 2,000 feet. It then descended and crashed into the hillside at about 1,400 feet, according to data from Flightradar24. Data also revealed the chopper lost control about 15 seconds before impact.
Some snippets:
Bryant's helicopter left Santa Ana in Orange County shortly after 9 a.m. and circled for a time just east of the 5 Freeway, near Glendale. Air traffic controllers noted poor visibility around Burbank, just to the north, and Van Nuys, to the northwest.
After holding up the helicopter for other aircraft, they cleared the Sikorsky S-76 to proceed north along the 5 Freeway through Burbank before turning west to follow the 101 Freeway. Shortly after 9:40 a.m., the helicopter turned again, toward the southeast, and climbed to more than 2,000 feet. It then descended and crashed into the hillside at about 1,400 feet, according to data from Flightradar24. Data also revealed the chopper lost control about 15 seconds before impact.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but dense fog at the time was such that the Los Angeles Police Department and the county sheriff's department grounded their helicopters.
Justin Green, an aviation attorney in New York who flew helicopters in the Marine Corps, believes weather may have contributed to the crash. Pilots can become disoriented in bad weather, losing track of which direction is up. Green said a pilot flying an S-76 would be instrument-rated, meaning they could fly the helicopter without relying on visual cues from outside.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said his department's choppers would not have left their airport in Long Beach in such weather conditions.
Jeez, this actually just gets more and more worse I read it...
So it seems like for about 15 seconds, they knew they were either going to be bracing for impact, or sharply descending to their deaths...
What a sad week for basketball. Ugh, I cannot imagine the look on Kobe's face when he looks into his daughter's eyes and know they may not make it.
Topic: Kobe Bryant, Daughter and 7 Others Killed in Helicopter Crash (Read 24629 times)